Esther Rantzen
British · 86 years old · Died 30 September 2026
Broadcaster: That's Life!; founder of Childline and The Silver Line
Cause of death
Lung cancer
Dame Esther Rantzen presented the BBC consumer affairs programme That's Life! for 21 years from 1973 to 1994. In 1986 she founded Childline, the counselling service for children, and in 2012 launched The Silver Line to tackle loneliness among older people. After being diagnosed with lung cancer she became a prominent campaigner for assisted dying, revealing in 2023 that she had joined Dignitas. She died on September 30 at the age of 86.
How common is cancer (all types)?
Esther Rantzen died of lung cancer. Globally, cancer (all types) kills 10,000,000 people every year. That is 27,397 per day, or roughly one person every 3 seconds. It accounts for 16% of all deaths worldwide.
Deaths / year
10,000,000
Deaths / day
27,397
Deaths / hour
1,142
Deaths / second
0.32
Share of all global deaths
Risk factors for cancer (all types)
Since Esther Rantzen died
Live count since 30 September 2026
Total deaths worldwide since then
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Deaths from same cause since then
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